L215 
)1 
)y 1 



[Authorized reprint from Vol. XXVI, No. 3 (July, 1909), of the Copyrighted PROCEEDINGS OF 
The Engineers' Club of Philadelphia.] 



INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS OF MEXICO. 

. JOHN BIRKINBINE. 
(Active Member.) 
Read June 15, 1909. 

Sixteen years ago it was my privilege to present before the Engi- 
neers' Club "Notes on Engineering in Mexico, "* in which were made 
comparisons of conditions noted during two professional visits to that 
country, in 1882 and 1893. The interval between these two visits 
covered the commercial awakening of Mexico, brought about largely by 
the construction of nearly 7000 miles of railroads in eleven years, but 
the changes then noted, although marked, were scarcely more pro- 
nounced than those evident during subsequent visits, and at the request 
of the Committee on Information the following data, gained by trips 
through our neighbor republic in 1905 and 1909, are offered to supple- 
ment the original paper. 

It has not been my privilege to view Mexico as a tourist, and some 
features of especial historical or picturesque interest included in excur- 
sions are unfamiliar, for members of an organization of engineers know 
that business trips offer limited opportunities for sight-seeing. How- 
ever, one short and four extended journeys in our neighboring republic 
included eighteen of the thirty-one political divisions, and, while many 
prominent cities and industrial centers are familiar, much of the country 
traversed has been away from railroad routes or established highways. 
During these journeys investigation of the resources of the country, the 
possibility of their exploitation, the industrial development, and the 
capabilities of the people have been studied. 

The population has increased from 11,600,000 in 1890 to 15,500,000 
(estimated) for 1908, and material advancement has outstripped the 
augmented population. Railroad extensions have opened areas of 
agricultural territory previously remote from markets where the prod- 
ucts could be disposed of, and these avenues of traffic have made 
possible the exploitation of mines which otherwise would have lain 
dormant, while numerous industries, some on large scale, have been 

* See Proceedings for July, 1893, vol. x, No. 3, pages 222 to 240. 



^jrUy' 



established. Improved paving, water-supplies, and sewerage systems 
have added to the health and prosperity of cities, for although many 
ancient aqueducts are still in use, a number of these interesting examples 
of early engineering are abandoned because they supply water of un- 
desirable quality or under insufficient head or in too limited quantity, 
and piping has been, or is being, substituted in modern water-supplies. 
Electricity has been liberally introduced as a source of light and power, 
many haciendas having individual generating plants and much of the 




Fig. 1. — Masonry aqueduct and masonry bridge adjoining large hacienda in 
the State of Morelos, Mexico. 

current being produced by hydro-electric installations, some of which 
are of phenomenal importance. The capital city is enjoying the advan- 
tage of the extensive drainage canal and tunnel referred to in 1893 as 
then under construction; its formerly dimly lighted streets and build- 
ings are well illuminated by electricity, this same medium being applied 
to power purposes, and in a number of offices and homes electric heaters 
reduce the morning and evening chill which detracts so much from the 
comfort of visitors to this city of 450,000 inhabitants. 



WAV 



Foundations are engineering pro])lenis in tlie city of Mexico, as it is 
built on the remnant of a drained b(jg, and a i,)roniinent example is 
furnished by a monument on the " I'aseo de la lieforma, " which is now 
passing through the third effort to secure a sta))le base to support a tall 
shaft in a vertical position. 

However, there are large buildings of steel skeleton construction with 
stone or brick face, such as market-houses, the "La Mutua" office 
building of five stories equipped with elevatcjrs, the new $5,000,000 




Fig. 2. — Steel skeleton structure of the National Theater in the City of Mexico. 
Note the heavy sections used. 



theater now being erected, the skeleton being steel from Germany, and 
an interesting structure, is the Geological Museum, with double spiral 
stairways of ornate design in metal. 

To the boggy formation the residents of the city of Mexico attribute 
the moderate damage resulting from earthquakes, "temblores, " for, 
while the wave motion is occasionally severe, the "wicked vertical 
shake" which demolishes buildings is moderated. There are several 
important structures much deformed from settlement, and one large 



church decidedly out of plumb, which have withstood repeated shocks 
due to earthquakes that caused buildings to vibrate, high-tension feed 
wires to swing in contact so as to short circuit, and impelled the people 
to seek safety in open places. 

A marked advance is in the urban and suburban traffic of the capital 
city, where the '^cochero," who formerly by whip and whistle en- 
couraged mules to draw small cars, is generally replaced by the motor- 
man, who controls the operation of modern American-built trolley 
cars from overhead wires, but mule power transportation is prevalent 
in smaller cities." 

The base of the statue erected on the Zocalo, a plaza of the City of 
Mexico, to commemorate the work of Enrico Martinez, the engineer who 
designed the drainage system, is utilized to exhibit the standard meter 
length, and on it is cut the latitude, 19° 28' 4.5" north; the longitude, 
99° 6' 42.6" or 6h 38m 8.6s west from Greenwich; and the altitude 
above sea-level of 2269 meters, equivalent to 7439 feet. Mexican 
cartography, however, is usually referred to the meridian of the capital 
city. 

The journey made in 1882 was in advance of railway construction, 
and tedious rides over alkali plains supporting only sage brush and 
cacti growth, or through rugged mountain passes, were made in 
" diligencias " or on horseback. Within late years these deserts have 
supplied "guayule," a formerly neglected plant, from the root and 
stems of which rubber is obtained. In 1904 "peons" were glad to 
collect this and pile it by the railroad for $8 to $10* (Mexican) per ton, 
for which service they now receive $34, and the large plants for treating 
it pay $70 to $75 per metric ton delivered. Botanists are studying 
the propagation of the plant, and the Japanese are reported to have 
taken an interest in its development. Up to the present time the 
collection of "guayule" has been characterized by the improvidence 
which prevails in Mexico as elsewhere, and the supply may become 
lessened unless the growth is liberally encouraged and protected. 

In 1882 the country had less than 300 miles of railroad (or 2.7 per 
cent, of the present mileage), confined to the initial enterprise, the 
Mexican Railroad connecting Vera Cruz with the capital of the republic, 
a construction which reflects credit upon the persistency of the British 
capitalists who expended upon it thirty-seven million dollars, or about 

* Except where specifically stated to the contrary, prices mentioned in this 
paper are in Mexican currency, and may be considered as double gold value. 



5 

$125,000 per mile, and (ujuiil ohm lit upon the enn'inecrs who, with the; 
limited experience and ecinipment avaihible forty years ago, phinned 
and directed this interesting worlc. 

As early as 1837 a concession for a railroad connecting the capital 
and the (!ulf was granted, but alxmdoncd after surveys had indicated 
its difficulties, and two subsequent concessions were canceled before 
1865, when, under Maximilian, the Imperial Mexican Company started 
worlc, and in two years built 47 miles out of Vera Cruz and 86 
miles out of the City of Mexico. This concession was forfeited by the 
fall of the Empire, but in 1868 the Mexican Railway undertook the 
completion of the road, 264 miles in length, and connected Vera Cruz 
and Mexico City at the close of 1872. 

Of the 4000 miles of railroad added in the interval from 1893 to 
1908, much consists of branches of and feeder^ to existing lines, but 
several important extensions have been completed, a considerable 
portion of narrow-gage road has been converted into standard gage, 
and gradients or alinements have been improved. 

An important addition is the transcontinental standard-gage railroad, 
crossing the Isthmus of Tehuantepec by a practically north and south 
line, less than 200 miles m length. The National Railroad of Tehaun- 
tepec connects Coatzacolcos, or Port of Mexico, on the Gulf with Salina 
Cruz on the Pacific Ocean, each having modern terminals equipped 
with electric cranes, while the harbor improvements, which cost $100,- 
000,000, permit of quick dispatch for large vessels. 

Its strategic value is augmented by the Vera Cruz and Isthmus 
Railroad, which connects it with the railroad system of Mexico, and by 
the Pan-American Road being built along the Mexican Pacific coast to 
Guatemala. 

Hawaiian sugar is shipped to the United States in bond over the 
Tehuantepec Railroad, and preparations are being made for double- 
tracking the road to meet increasing traffic, as this route is nearly 1000 
miles shorter betw^een Atlantic and Pacific ports in the United States 
than that via the Isthmus of Panama. The road is equipped with oil- 
burning locomotives; the fuel being conveyed by thirty miles of pipe- 
line from Minatitlan to Port of Mexico, where large refineries are oper- 
ated. 

Another feature is the extension of the Mexican Central lines to 

Manzanillo on the Pacific coast, giving this road a transcontinental line 

from Tampico on the Gulf of Mexico, through San Luis Potosi, Agua- 

scalientes, Irapuato, and Guadalajara. Another advance is the con- 

3 



6 

struction, now in progress, of a railroad along the Pacific slope which 
will ultimately connect Guaymas with the above extension. But per- 
haps the most notable change is the acquisition by the Mexican Govern- 
ment of most of the railroads of the republic by means of a merger, the 
concentration of the management under a commission named by the 
President, and the control of traffic charges. 

While the Government of Mexico has been generous in granting 
concessions to railroads, it has exacted rigid compliance with contracts. 
An evidence of this is a substantial through truss steel bridge si^anning 




Fig. 3. — One span oi' a steel truss railway bridge at Balsas, Guerrero, forming 
the terminus of the Cuernavaca Division of the Mexican Central Railroad. 
The flat boats shown are utilized to convey freight down the Rio Balsas to 
various settlements and mining centers. 



the Balsas River as the terminal of the Cuernavaca Division of the 
Mexican Central Railroad, over which no trains pass, as there is no 
connection beyond, but the concession provided for this bridge, and it 
remains in place, used only by foot passengers, who tread the ties. 
. A number of railroad bridges are of large size and some of the highway 
bridges are of impressive design. At the popular resort of Cuernavaca 
a modest stream is crossed by a masonry arch bridge 110 feet high, 
the abutments being enlarged to form circular concourses, or ^'glori- 
etas" with fountains. 

Within short distances one sees the modern and the crude in compari- 



son; thus, in passing through a cailon, the Cuernavaca Division of the 
Mexican Central Railroad uses a curved steel bridge, while a few miles 




Fig. 4. 



-Curved steel trestle in a canon on the Cuernavaca Division of the Mexi- 
can Central Railroad. 



below is a suspended foot-bridge made from vines and pieces of wood 
lashed by rope, and close by is a dam constructed of facines (large 
wicker baskets) loaded with stone, its function being to supply irrigat- 
ing ditches. 



As previously stated, the topographical features of Mexico require 
that in railroad construction long tangents over waterless deserts 
alternate with difficult cafion work, bridging arroyas which each year 
by erosion change their cross-section or form new channels, and climb- 
ing mountainous divides. 

Little advance has been made in the use of metal ties, to which refer- 
ence was made in the first paper, the piles of these lying beside the road- 
beds unused indicating that their expected superiority has not been 
demonstrated. 

The use of coal has reduced the number of .wood-burning locomotives, 
although on some roads vegetable fuel is still employed, and the liberal 
application of mineral oil as locomotive fuel suggests the favor in which 
this is held. 

Oil obtained from wells in the State of Vera Cruz has practically 
displaced other fuel for locomotives on railroad lines reaching the Gulf 
of Mexico and on the Central Railroad system south of Aguas-Calientes. 
The large "gushers" which attracted attention by venting uncontrol- 
lable volumes, and the efforts to quench the fire which consumed im- 
mense quantities of oil, have directed attention to this resource as 
developed in the State of Vera Cruz, where fuel oils sell at $25 per 
metric ton at the wells, and are finding a market for internal explosion 
engines and many other uses. 

The application of producer' gas to engines is growing in favor, an- 
thracite coal and coke being imported for this purpose, and in the State 
of San Luis Potasi charcoal is made in meilers and in kilns for such use. 

Much of the electrical energy applied in the City of Mexico is obtained 
from the Mexican Light and Power Company, mainly from an installa- 
tion recognized as the Necaxa plant, and the report of this company 
shows that on January 1, 1909, its contracts covered: 

Public lighting, 1810 arcs 1,470 H. P. 

Private lighting, equivalent to 338,500 16 c. p. lamps. 27,250 H. P. 

Power motor units 22,783 H. P. 

Electric heaters 1,085 H. P. 

Tramways 8,610 H. P. 

Total power connected 61,298 H. P. 

Add current distributed to El Oro mines and vicinity. 17,775 H. P. 

A total of 79,073 H. P. 

At the hydro-electric plant (which is supplemented by a steam in- 



9 

stalkition in the City of Mexico) the maxiniuni power generated during 
1908 was 45,000 H.P., or nearly 60 per cent, of the total connected load. 
The water-power units in place have a combined capacity of 50,000 H.P., 
which ]jy installations n(jw in prcjgress is expected to ]:)e increased to 
66,000 H.P., and it is planned to further augment this each year by 
adding a 16,000 H.P. generator, until three such have ])een installed. 

A large earthen dam, being constructed l^y sluicing into the embank- 
ment clay, sand, and rock loosened l^y hydraulic giants, is in the course 
of erection. This dam was planned to have a length of over 1000 feet, 
a maximum height of 190 feet, a top width of 54 feet, and a maximum 
base of 965 feet, of which 365 feet is the central clay core. In May two- 
thirds of the 2,130,000 cubic j^ards required for the dam were in place, 
when a slide occurred which moved about one-half of this material, or 
720,000 cubic yards, 350 feet into the interior of the dam. This accident 
will delay the completion of the structure and may limit considerably 
its storage capacity, and possibly reduce the head on the power station, 
which was planned to be 1453 feet. Additional reservoirs on other 
streams are being constructed to store water and divert it to the main 
dam by means of canals and tunnels. 

The mountainous character of central Mexico offers numerous oppor- 
tunities for the development of water-power, for the descent of most 
streams is rapid, but the unequal distribution of rainfall into wet and 
dry seasons requires impounding water on liberal scale when large 
volumes are to be utilized. 

Records of rainfall in the Valley of Mexico, which have been kept 
for thirty-two years, show an average annual precipitation of 579 
millimeters (22.8 inches), the minimum and maximum being 332 and 
893 millimeters (13.07 and 35.16 inches) respectively. The major por- 
tion of the rainfall occurs in the months of June to Septeml^er inclusive; 
the^averages for the various months showing : 

Month. Millimeters. Inches. 

January 3.25 0.13 

February 6.54 0.26 

. March. 12.2 0.48 

April 19.66 0.77 

May 45.66 1.8 

June 101.12 3.98 

July 112.93 4.45 

August 117.70 4.63 

September 101.32 ■ 3.99 

October 40.53 1.6 

November 10..52 0.41 

December 7.43 0.29 



10 

The unequal distribution of precipitation appears from the following 
table:* 

RANGE OF ANNUAL RAINFALL IN THE VALLEY OF MEXICO FOR 
THIRTY-TWO YEARS, 1877 TO 1908 INCLUSIVE. 

Month. Millimeters. Inches. 

January to 20 to 0.79 

February to 41 to 1.61 

March to 63 to 2.48 

April to 65 to 2.56 

May 6 to 126 0.24 to 4.96 

June 26 to 193 1.02 to 7.6 

July 48 to 210 1.89 to 8.27 

August 40 to 346 1.57 to 13.62 

September 43 to 205 1.69 to 8.07 

October 3 to 151 0.12 to 5.94 

November to 32 to 1.26 

December to 114 to 4.49 

Year 332 to 893 13.07 to 35.96 

However, some streams have well sustained volumes, and an un- 
usually favorable opportunity for hydro-electric development on the 
Balsas River in the State of Guerrero was visited. This stream drains 
an area above the town of Balsas of approximately 17,000 square miles, 
chiefly in the mountainous sections of Guerrero, Oaxaca, Puebla, 
Tlaxcala, and Morelos, and its genesis is the perpetual snow on Popoca- 
tepetl and Ixtachihuatl, whose peaks have elevations approximating 
17,000 feet above sea-level, while most of the water-shed is from 1500 to 
10,000 feet above tide. 

A measurement at the Mexican Central Railroad bridge at Balsas at 
low stage showed a discharge of 2Q68 second feet, or 0.16 second foot 
per square mile of drainage area, which the topographical and climatic 
conditions appear to verify; but for most of the year a continuous dis- 
charge of 5500 second feet, or 0.32 second foot per square mile, is 
estimated as available. 

* Since the above was written, portions of northeastern Mexico have suffered 
from phenomenal floods. It is reported that at Monterey 14 inches of rain fell 
in forty-two hours, and a few days thereafter 20.16 inches fell in ninety-eight 
hours, or a total of 34.16 inches of rain in one hundred and forty hours. 

We may imagine the result in a district where 3^ inches is the average August 
precipitation, and appreciate the flood conditions by recalling the three days in 
1889 when Johnstown was engulfed and central Pennsylvania devastated by a 
rainfall ranging from 6^ to 9 inches. 



11 

A clam 82 feet high, spanning a distance of 300 feet between canon 
walls, is planned to back water in a pool over 12 miles long, and a canal 
2 miles in length will deliver water from the pool to a power station 
under a head of 121.5 feet. A second power about three miles below will 
back water to the upper station by a dam, giving an available head of 

29.5 feet. 

To meet varying demands, to allow for peak-loads, and to utihze 
the normal flow of the river as much as possible, installations in the 
two plants of 60,000 H.P. and 16,000 H.P. respectively are planned. 




Fig 5 —Gorge of the Balsas River which it is proposed to span by a dam. The 
precipitous chffs shown rise for over 1000 feet above the stream, whose 
width at the promontory is narrowed to approximately 300 feet at normal 
water-level. 



The hydro-electric plants on the Balsas River are intended to supply 
power and light to towns, to important mining centers, and to a large 
sugar-growing territory in the State of Morelos, where there are numer- 
ous extensive haciendas. It is also expected to utiUze the electricity 
generated on the Balsas River to displace steam, to improve transpor- 
tation faciHties within haciendas, and to connect these and towns with 
existing railroads. 

Another prospective application is that of elevating water by means 



12 

of electric pumps to increase the area of irrigated lands, some installa- 
tions of this character being in use in the sugar country. 

A prominent product of Mexico is sugar, and cane can be grown at 
an elevation of 8000 feet above sea-level, but it does not tassel above 
4500 feet; and, although the soil is excellent, the shallow scratching 
which much of it receives from the sharpened logs used as plows, and 




Fig. 6. — Group of buildings on a large sugar hacienda in the State of Morelos, 

Mexico. 



the limited fertilization applied, reduce the yield below that of Hawaii. 
On one side of a mountain range' convenient to railways may be seen a 
large "hacienda," equipped Avith modern machinery of aj^proved type, 
while on the opposite side crude rolls, driven by water or animal power, 
crush the cane. 

Some of these modern haciendas employ steam-plows for cultivating 
the ground; have equipments of steam-derricks, cane and bagasse 
carriers, rolls, vacuum pans, centrifugals, filter presses, and other acces- 



> 13 

series, economical boilers, hi^h-duty steam-engines, and handle their 
cane and products on narrow-gage railroads by steam locomotives. 

Other mills are ancient, and in some are old Spanish rolls of copper; 
open-air evaporation is used; and, in crystallizing, the sugar in earthen 
molds is blanketed with clay to extract the molasses. ]Many haciendas 
produce no marketable sugar, but convert the cane into alcohol (aguar- 
diente). 

Pretentious textile works are also in evidence within a short distance 
of wooden looms, wool wheels, and hand cards operated in cane or adobe 




Fig. 7.— Interior of a sugar hacienda in the State of Morelos, Mexico, showing 
sugar-cane being handled from ox-carts by steam derricks, and in the fore" 
ground bagasse drying for use as fuel. 



shacks occupied by the natives, wdio thus produce excellent "sarapes, " 
"rebosas, " or other woven goods of wool cHpped from the numerous 
herds of gheep and goats, or of cotton harvested from large areas under 
cultivation. 

The first Mexican journey was through sections then remote from 
railroads, and the one made a few months ago was distant from both 
railway and wagon roads, where the crude methods noticed in northern 
Mexico twenty-seven years ago were found in use in the mountains of 
Oaxaca. Among these is the ancient Catalan forge, in which iron ore is 



14 

fed to an open charcoal fire intensified by blast supplied by trompe, in 
which falling water entrains air. The bloom made in the fire is wrought 
under a helve hammer operated by a water-wheel, and rewrought into 
bars or anchovies, which are marketed locally for from three to five 
cents gold per pound. 

Some of the charcoal blast furnaces mentioned in "Notes on Engin- 
eering in Mexico " are also active, and the delicate castings from fur- 
naces or iron puddled with pine wood are produced in the manner 
therein described. In several prominent cities scrap furnaces are 
operated with fuel supplied by gas producers and connected with rolling 
mills producing merchant iron, and foundries and machine shops 
furnish much of the repair and some of the new work required. As a 
rule, these industries are inclosed to prevent pilfering, and workmen 
are searched upon leaving the plant. 

At Monterey, in the State of Nueva Leon, a modern iron and steel 
industry was established in 1901 by the Cia. Fundidoro de Fierro y 
Acero de Monterey, S. A. The plant consists of one blast furnace, 80 by 
18 feet, one Bessemer converter, three 35-t(bn open hearth furnaces, one 
composite mill to roll beains and shapes or rails, a merchant mill, spike 
works, foundry and machine shop,, and other accessories. 

The blast furnace is fed with iron ores obtained in northern Mexico, 
the mixture ranging from 57 to 62 per cent, of iron, and closely averag- 
ing 60 per cent. iron. The coke used is one-half domestic, one-half 
foreign, and limestone is brought from nearby quarries. The domestic 
coke is produced from coal mined in the State of Coahuila, 200 miles 
from Monterey, and for smelting purposes, owing to the percentages of 
ash and sulphur, is mixed with cokes shipped from the United States 
and Europe to Tampico, and from thence 322 miles by railroad to Mon- 
terey. 

Pig-iron is cast in sand when not supplied as direct metal in ladle cars 
to the Bessemer converter (formerly a feature of the Pottstown, Pennsyl- 
vania, basic Bessemer plant), where it is partially blown, and is then 
carried by ladle to open hearth furnaces already charged with scrap; 
this duplex process accelerating the rate of conversion and augmenting 
the open hearth output; the cast ingots passing through soaking pits 
to the blooming and roughing mills, heating furnaces, and then to the 
composite trains. When visited, the mill, which has a capacity double 
that of the blast furnace and converting equipment, was running on an 
order for 20,000 tons of 85-pound open-hearth steel rails for the Mexi- 
can National Railroads. 



. 15 

The general management is by Mexicans and most of the employees 
are natives, but department heads and many skilled workmen are 
foreigners. The labor basis at the plant is $1.50 Mexican per day, 
equivalent to 75 cents gold, but the number of employees exceeds that 
usually found in similar works in the United States. In 1907 nearly 
18,000 tons of steel ingots were produced and 30,000 tons of manu- 
factured steel, mostly open hearth, were turned out. 

Practically all the domestic coal produced in Mexico is mined in the 
State of Coahuila, near the United States boundary, where about 1,500,- 
000 tons are obtained annually. In 1907 the output of the Coahuila 
coal fields was 1,265,719 metric tons, about one-third of which was 
converted into coke. Exploitations have followed the mineral for 
4500 feet on a slope, and a shaft 930 feet deep is in use. 

The towns, railroads, and other improvements, for which these coal 
deposits are responsible, have transformed a desert country into an 
industrial center, most impressive to one who first knew the coal as a 
mere prospect. 

The coal costs about $2.00 gold per ton to mine, and, owing to the 
percentage of ash, washing is necessary to prepare it for coking, 20 to 25 
per cent, passing away in the tailings; hence, two tons of coal as 
mined are necessary to produce a ton of coke, and this product com- 
mands about $6.50 gold per ton at the ovens. 

But the fuel requirements of Mexico are more than double the out- 
put of the Coahuila fields, and domestic coal and coke compete with 
foreign fuel at the capital and other centers of consumption on the 
main plateau. The railroad freight rate from the Coahuila mines to the 
City of Mexico, 835 miles, is $4.00 gold; the same amount is charged on 
foreign fuel carried 264 miles from Vera Cruz, but in the latter case the 
fuel is elevated from sea-level to the capital, 7500 feet. Fuel is, there- 
fore, an important problem, and one purpose of the recent journey was to 
inspect prospecting work and reconnaissances in Oaxaca, which for one 
and a half years have been carried on under the direction of my son and 
associate, J. L. W. Birkinbine. 

This is neither the time nor the place to discuss the details of the ex- 
posures made by the use of diamond drills and many exploratory work- 
ings in searching for coal and iron ore in the State of Oaxaca. But it 
may be of interest to state that three bituminous coal basins of consider- 
able extent and large deposits of rich iron ore have been located, and 
that from one of the fields a dense coal, burning without smoke, is 
obtained, intimating a close approximation to anthracite. In this coal 



16 

the volatile matter is low, but, as in all Mexican coals, the ash is 
high. 

The Coahuila coals are classed as cretaceous, while the Oaxaca coals 
are believed to be in the Upper Jurassic formation. 

As the Oaxaca coals are found at altitudes ranging from 6000 to 7000 
feet above sea-level and within 300 miles of the capital, they offer 
opportunities for cheap transport as compared with the Coahuila coals 
mined at an elevation of 1500 feet and carried over 800 miles to the 
City of Mexico. 

Reconnaissances demonstrate that, notwithstanding the mountain- 




FiG. 8. — Flying buttresses of the ancient cathedral in Cuernavaca, reported as 
having been constructed in the sixteenth century. 



ous character of the country, satisfactory railroad routes are obtainable 
which, besides bringing the Oaxaca coal into market connection, can be 
extended to the Pacific coast. 

While the mines of Mexico have been the cause of many extravagant 
statements, the country is rich in mineral, and most of the States are 
producers of importance. In the paper which this article supplements 
one of Mexico's great iron ore deposits was described, and a resume of 
important mines or quarries would fill many pages of the ''Proceed- 
ings." 

In the mountainous sections of Oaxaca and Guerrero covered in the 
last visit the mines produce gold, silver, copper, lead, antimony, and 



-17 

other minerals; one lead smelter visited being equipped with American 
impulse water-wheels working under a head of water of 60 feet and 
operating American rotar}^ blowers. This smelter was supplied with 
water-jacket and metal tuyeres, and all of this installation had })een 
transported on the backs of animals for 75 miles. 

Peopled by a succession of generations, which for centuries have 
depended upon wood or charcoal made therefrom as fuel, little valuable 
timber remains, although the Oaxaca mountains sustain a fair growth 
of gnarled and stunted trees; the herds of sheep and goats preventing 
the development of any decided new growth. 

This paper is merely a sketch outline of general features which could 
be filled in with engineering details, including extensive harbor improve- 
ments, governmental or municipal buildings, revised alinement and 
gradients of railroads with their bridges and tunnels, design and equip- 
ment of manufacturing industries, extent and product of mines, mills, 
and haciendas, description of water-power installations and distribution 
of electrical current, pubhc water-supplies, drainage systems, etc. But 
from what is presented it is evident that Mexico will have wonderful 
progress to exhibit in celebrating next year its centennial of independ- 
ence, or rather commemorating the spark struck by Hidalgo in Sep- 
tember, 1810, from which resulted the flame of patriotism which was 
not extinguished during fifty years of internal strife between warring 
factions led by ambitious leaders, but was fanned into renewed fervor 
b}'' the unsuccessful effort, backed by European influence, to establish 
an 'empire under Maximilian in 1866. 

At the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, General Porfi- 
rio Diaz represented the republic of Mexico. Since that time he has, 
with the exception of four years (1880 to 1884), been the President and 
practically the dictator of our neighbor republic, guiding it toward a 
future which should place Mexico as a permanent feature of ''govern- 
ments of the people, by the people, for the people, " which we trust will 
characterize the entire western hemisphere. 

In two interviews with President Diaz I was impressed with the in- 
timate detailed knowledge he possesses of his country's needs and possi- 
bilities, and his apparent enthusiasm over any project which promises 
national advancement. He not only analyzes figures, but understands 
drawings, an accomplishment unusual among men in public life. 
When Cortez landed in ]\Iexico and initiated the Spanish conquest, 
the knowledge that Columbus had found the land we know as North 



18 

America was less than thirty years old. But the concfueror found 
numerous impressive temples and constructions which evidenced a 
civilization covering centuries, and now Mexico is uncovering ruins 
which offer fertile fields for archaeologists. 




Fig. 9.- 



-A portion of the ruins of Mitla, Oaxaca, which have been excavated, 
showino- the Hall of Monoliths. 



The Mitla ruins, near Oaxaca, present interesting examples of mosaic 
work on heroic scale, done by people of whom no authentic history has 
been discovered, and in other localities explorations are being conducted 
under governmental authority. 

During the journey through Oaxaca, I lived among people who trace 



19 

their history back to the sixth century, and traversed territory evidenc- 
ing that in the past it had sustained a population greatly in excess of 
that now occupying the towns, pueblos, and ranches. 

Details concerning the country traversed and the crude methods 
















Fig. 10.— Part of the ruins of Alitla, Oaxaca, showing a portion of the East 
Corridor of Mosaics. Note the intricate pattern, the small pieces of stone 
being so well laid as to have withstood the ravages of centuries. 



followed by the interesting people in Oaxaca are given in the paper 
"A Trail through the Mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico," by H. E. Bir- 
kinbine,who Avas my companion and assistant in the investigations. 

The methods of agriculture and industry, and the means of travel, 
mainly rugged mountain trails, carry one far back in history; and the 



20 

knowledge that the same methods were in use in Oaxaca when our 
own progressive country was a wilderness awakens interest. But when 
evidences of advancement are noted where modern appliances have 
been introduced, and the possibilities of good soil and the equitable 
climate due to the altitude are recognized, the future of southern 
Mexico looms bright, and the same progress shown in other sections 
of the republic may be anticipated. 



21 



A TRAIL THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS OF OAXACA, MEXICO, 

HENRY E. BIRKINBINE. 
(Junior Member.) 

Read June 7.5, 190'J. 

This paper is not technical, but, as the title indicates, treats of a 
portion of the republic of Mexico concerning which little information 
has been publislied, although this region was peopled long before the 
section of North America in which we live was known. An effort will 
be made to describe the physical features, the people, and their indus- 
tries and habits, as noted while on a trail through the mountains in the 
northwestern part of the State of Oaxaca. 

The State of Oaxaca, whose capital bears the same name as does the 
State, lies southeast of the City of Mexico, and, with Chiapas, forms 
the southernmost portion of the republic of Mexico. Its coast line, 
lying entirely along the Pacific Ocean, has a length of 300 miles, and the 
railroads within the State do not cover more than 370 miles. The topo- 
graphy, which for the most part consists of series of mountain ranges 
with intervening valleys, varies from sea-level on the Pacific coast to 
10,800 feet, the average elevation probably exceeding 5000 feet above 
tide. 

This State has an area of 35,392 square miles, about four-fifths of that 
of Pennsylvania, and is settled by a million people, of whom approxi- 
mately one-third are meztizos and whites, and the remainder composed 
of fourteen Indian tribes, the Zapotecas and Mixtecas being by far the 
most prominent. The route traversed on the trip was mainly through 
the country and towns settled many centuries ago by the Mixtecas, who 
speak a language of their own. A few Mixteca words are given to 
indicate the character of the tongue and the difference between it and 
the Mexican, or Spanish, language. 

As instances: "fiu" is the Mixteca word for the Spanish "lumbre, " 
meaning ''fire"; "tree," which in Spanish is ''arbol, " the Mixtecas 
call "fiutu"; while ''hombre, " the Spanish for "man," they designate 
as "te. " Also " corn-fodder, " which is known by Mexicans as " zacate," 
is termed ' ' dndo j o " ; " cuiiu ' ' replaces the Spanish ' ' carne ' ' for ' ' meat ' ' ; 



22 

"mountain/' "cerro" in Spanish, is called "yucu"; and the familiar 
word "pan," meaning "bread," becomes "yxtatila. " 

The Mixteca peons, a peaceful, music-loving race, wanting in hygiene 
and method in their life and labors, have unusual powers of strength 
and endurance. The men carry heavy burdens and travel all day at 
a smooth running-walk, over hills, along valleys, and through streams, 
for from 25 to 37h cents gold a clay. As an instance, it was related that 
a "mozo," man-servant, carried a barrel of sugar over the mountains 
to the camp, a distance of eighteen miles, and also that a native bore a 







mt^^^'r'r^^^^t^fsm .^^^^^^^ 






^H 


^^l^^^^^^fc^^ / itgn, ^- "i^^^^H^^^^^^^I 


l^H 


lljlfc-., J 


Wfij' "^^Sjg 




MJI 




'hB^B 




in 



Fig. 1. — Typical topographic features in the vicinity of Huajuapam, Oaxaca. 



barrel of cement along a sidewalk in the City of Mexico. With the aid 
of a piece of rope, and using the "sarape, " native blanket, as a cushion, 
the Indian carries burdens which in this country require the services of 
two or three men. A case experienced was that of a "mozo" bearing 
upon his back a metal steamer-trunk, filled with clothing, as well as a 
large dunnage-bag full of "sarapes" and blankets, from the railway 
station to the second floor of the hotel, a mile away. An example of 
their endurance, even when young, is that of a barefoot Indian girl, 
ten years of age, walking thirty-five miles over the rough mountain 
trails in a clay and a half to earn one dollar gold a month. 



23 

Despite the strenuous exertion on a day's trail of from thirty to forty 
miles over the rugged mountains, and the heavy burdens borne, the 
Indians seem to take little rest. At night the "mozos" sit around the 
camp-fire and chatter long after every one else has " turned in," and in 
the early morning, when the camp awakes, they have been astir for some 
time and have prepared the pack train for the day's work. Along the 
trail their meals consist of "tortillas," thin cakes made of corn-meal 
ground between stones, which they buy at the villages passed through, 
while in the towns they can purchase for two cents gold a meal of soup, 
meat, "frijoles" or beans, and "tortillas." 

On the trail one meets man, woman, or burro, each carrying a load of 
approximately the same weight, but the woman often has the additional 
burden of a child slung over her back in a "rebosa, " a thin native 
shawl with a fringed edge. 

The tenacity with which the people cling to the primitive methods is 
illustrated by the fact that when iron wheel-barrows were first brought 
to the workings, the miners would wheel them out of the opening with a 
load of coal or waste, and then, turning the implement upside down and 
bearing it on their heads, would trot back into the drift. Another case 
brought to attention was that of a peon, who, accustomed to the use of 
the Mexican plow, consisting of a sharpened log with a stick attached 
for a handle, cut off one handle of a new American plow. 

In towns, or occasionally on the trail, the costumes differed accord- 
ing to the wealth and position of the wearer; those of the men 
varied from up-to-date European suits to the white, or once white, 
cotton garments, much resembling pajamas; the conical hats ranged 
from felt with elaborate gold or silver embroidery to straw; and where 
shoes could not be afforded, they either went barefoot or wore sandals. 
The clothing of the women was of the latest European fashions or the 
native low-necked bodice and skirts, much frayed about the edges, and 
their he ad- coverings were lace "mantillas," or scarfs, or the domestic 
"rebosas," those who could not obtain shoes usually being barefoot. 

Occasionally a man is seen in the "charro" costume of short jacket, 
bright colored belt, and tight-fitting trousers which button or hook 
along the outside of each leg, these garments being sometimes decorated 
with gold or silver buttons or heavily embroidered with braid of the 
same metals. 

The high peaked hats with broad turned-up brims, which are worn by 
both men and women while on the trail, serve the double purpose of a 
protection from the sun and a convenient method of carrying in the 



24 

brim, so as to be readily accessible, small change, trinkets, cigarettes, 
and fruit, or at times another hat is perched on the peak. 

The "sarape, " from which the ''mozo" is never separated, is used 
as a blanket at night, to wrap about the upper portion of the body and 
to cover the mouth in the cool of the evening and early morning; lies 
on the ground nearby when the owner is working; is carried over the 
forearm or shoulder while trailing; and is used as a cushion when heavy 
bundles are carried. 




Fig. 2. 



-Group of Mixteca Indians with local band, showing the character of the 
habitations. 



On the trail other travelers are met, usually ''peons" driving pack 
trains of burros carrying large boxes, bags, jars, or bundles, and often 
accompanied by the young animals, which solemnly trot along beside 
their mothers, stopping to gaze at the stranger with wide-oiDen eyes. 
Sometimes one meets a man riding a fine horse, preceded by a "mozo" 
carrying a gun and followed by another bearing a wicked looking 
"machete. " From each traveler is received a "buenos dies, " or ''bue- 
nos noches, " the Spanish for "good clay" and "good evening," and 
also a raising of the hat from the "peons," men and women, who will 



25 

pass on without making a mistake in the manufac^ture of anolhr'f hat, 
which they weave from strips of pahiietto leaves while walking or riding 
over the trails. 

The narrow, winding, steep trails lead up and d(jwn the sides of the 
mountains, from whose summits are obtained impressive views of the 
valleys lying a thousand feet or more below. In the valleys, however, 
the trail broadens out into a road, "camino real," which leads across 
the valley with its arroya and through the towns, and on which are 
seen occasional "carretas, " two-wheeled carts of wood doweled together 
with wooden pins and tied with ropes, drawn by a pair of plodding 
yoked oxen. 

During the wet season the water from the heavy rains, in its course 
to the river-bed, cuts deep "barrancas," or arroyas, with nearly verti- 
cal sides, in the soil, and to cross these guUeys the trail winds around 
until it reaches the end of the ''barranca, " or a place where the slope of 
the bank permits a descent to the bottom, and further along a cUmb 
up the opposite bank. 

Along both sides of the road, bordering the fields or defining the 
village streets, rows of aloes, or maguey plants, from which is ob- 
tained the native drink of "pulque," grow to large sizes, and when 
blooming send up from the center of the plant a long shoot, about 
fifteen to twenty feet in height, from whose, top are put out symme- 
trical branches bearing clusters of flowers and giving the effect of a 
lofty branched candlestick. The prickly pear, which in our climate is 
nursed in flower-pots, grows to trees from fifteen to twenty feet high 
in Oaxaca. 

In the valleys, on both sides of the roads. He the fields in which are 
raised wheat and maize, and in some protected sections sugar-cane 
flourishes, while anise-seed is occasionally seen growing. The perpetual 
summer of the region permits of one field being plowed while those 
adjoining show the green blades springing from the ground or a crop 
ripe for harvest. Modern agricultural implements were not used by 
these people, the tilling of the ground being usually accomplished by 
means of a plow, said to resemble that used by the ancient Egyptians, 
Avhere a sharpened log, sometimes shod with iron, fitted with a stick for 
a handle, scratches a shallow furrow in the soil. These plows are drawn 
by a pair of yoked oxen urged by a thorn fastened in the end of a long 
stick. The field may also constitute a threshing floor, where, after the 
grain has been trodden out of the hulls by two or three horses and a 
burro hitched together and driven in a circle with the driver as the 



26 

pivot, the first favorable breeze is utilized to waft away the chaff, the 
grain falling to the ground when the mixture is tossed into the air. 
After a corn-field has been harvested, the stalks, or "zacate, " are 
stored in the branches of trees to prevent them becoming the food of 
animals allowed to roam, while the corn is conveyed to conical adobe 
bins. 

The habitations beside the trail are usually of cane with thatched 
roofs, and some of these have along the ridge-pole a line of earthenware 




Fig. 3. — Sugar rolls made of copper and operated by animal power. They are 
claimed to have been introduced by the Spaniards at the time of the 
Conquest. 



jars, broken vertically down the centers, overlapping so as to prevent 
the leakage of rain-water. Nearby some of these shacks are hemispher- 
ical bake-ovens, with a small hole in each, built of stones set in lime 
mortar, for the Indians burn their own lime. 

From some of the huts passed issued the noise of the wooden looms 
weaving the ^'sarapes" with wool cut from the ranging herds of sheep 
and goats, carded, spun, and dyed by hand; while from others came the 
whirr of the modern sewing-machines, and the agencies of these imple- 
ments can be seen in all the large towns. 



27 

The outskirts of the vihagcs arc composed of scattered huts built of 
cane and sometimes inclosed by organ cacti planted in rows so as to 
form fences; while in the towns the houses, as a rule, are constructed 
of sun-dried adobe bricks manufactured nearby, and some are also 
plastered with lime mortar, often painted, the predominant colors 
being pink or pale blue. The roofs, instead of l^eing thatched, as in the 
outskirts, are constructed of tile made in the vicinity, or of large, square, 
flat bricks resting on " vigas, " or wooden beams, laid across the tops of 
the walls with merely sufficient slope to carry off the rain-water. The 
principal streets are paved with cobble-stones, as is also the "plaza," 
or public square, near the main church, where the people have their 
market. 

The church is always the most prominent feature of the town, its 
bare walls and white towers rising above all other buildings, and, at the 
points on the trail from which the town can first be seen, are placed 
crosses, which passers-by decorate with vines, branches, and flowers. 
Wayside shrines and crosses also give evidence of the religious senti- 
ment of the people. . 

Parian, elevation 4900 feet, the puebla, or small town, from which 
the start of the journey was made, is a collection of adobe or cane huts, 
whose roofs are thatched with split aloe leaves or grasses. It is built 
about the station where the narrow-gage, wood-burning locomotive of 
the Mexican Southern Railroad connecting Puebla and Oaxaca pauses 
for wood and water after chmbing through rocky gorges, beside tumb- 
ling streams, and passing through the "tierra cahente, " or hot country, 
where may be seen the graceful palms and green fields of sugar-cane. 

Mountain horses and a pack train of mules and horses were in waiting 
to carry the party with their tents, provisions, and luggage over the 
steep, narrow, and often rocky trails across the mountains, whose crests 
attain elevations above the sea of 8000 to 9000 feet, and which, with 
their foot-hills, separate the various towns from one another. To 
relieve those wearied by horseback-riding, a chair built so as to be 
supported by poles resting on the shoulders of carriers had been pro- 
vided, with "mozos" in sufficient numbers to act as relays. 

The horses and mules, having lived among the mountains, were sure- 
footed and safely traveled over steep, rocky slopes, along narrow side- 
hill paths, or through stony stream-beds; the only misfortune occurring 
when a pack-horse, in trying to free himself of his load by bucking, lost 
his footing on the trail along the mountain-side and rolled into the 



28 

river below, wetting the contents of the suitcase lashed to his back and 
causing the camp that night to resemble a "dressed" man-of-war. For 
the good of the riders as well as of the horses, it was considered advisable 
to dismount when descending especially steep or rocky trails, the animals 
being led by means of long lariats about their necks. 

At Nochixtlan, elevation 7200 feet, a town of 4500 people, 27 miles 
from Parian, a stop was made at the hotel, a onfe-story affair whose 
brick-paved rooms with high ceilings opened onto a court paved with 
cobble-stones. About 6 o'clock that evening the bells in the nearby 
church began ringing, two bands started playing, and occasionally a 
cannon was discharged, a preliminary celebration of the following day's 
anniversary of the granting of the new constitution to Mexico in 1857. 
These noises were intermittent, ceasing for a while and then breaking 
out anew. One band did not wait for the other to complete its selection 
before starting to play, but each gave its own piece in its own time and 
key while walking from place to place on the pubUc "plaza," and the 
bells were also independent of the bands. At night the inhabitants 
lighted rockets and threw them into the air to choose their own courses, 
and next morning, when the journey was continued, the celebration 
had not abated. 

Outside of the town are a number of hills whose crests are littered 
with shards of broken ancient pottery, some carved and others painted 
and enameled with bright colored figures and fancy designs. On the 
summits of these hills, from what are claimed to be graves, are obtained 
small idols carved out of stone and drilled through the back to accommo- 
date the thongs by which the idols were carried. Some of these images 
consist of the head only, but others show the figure in a position of 
squatting on the heels with the knees protruding in front, the hands 
being clasped or the arms folded over the breast, and some have a crown 
upon the head while the features vary from decidedly Egyptian to 
Asiatic. 

At Santa Maria Tiltepec, a little town at the foot of one of the moun- 
tain ranges, consisting of probably forty cane or adobe thatched roof 
huts and situated about forty miles from the railroad, stands a large 
stone church whose elaborately carved fagade contains winged images 
in niches, and whose interior includes ornate decorations and gilding, 
as well as an organ, showing the hold of the church upon the scantily 
clad inhabitants of the vicinity. In the wall around the church as well 
as in the side walls of the structure are inserted stones with intricate 
carvings, which were claimed to have been parts of an older edifice. 



29 




Fig. 4. — Interior view of damaged dome of sacristy at Teposcolula, Oaxaca. 
The ornamental character of the stonework is well illustrated. 



30 

while well up on the side of the building is set a tablet bearing the date 
1689. 

Teposcolula, elevation 7500 feet, a town with a population of about 
5000, located 28 miles from Nochixtlan, the next stopping-place, gave 
evidence of having once been of material importance, being reported 
to have at one time been the capital of the State. Here stands a church, 
bearing the date 1763, with an attached cloister, and also the ruins 
of an older church. Fluted sandstone columns, from thirty to forty-two 




Fig. 5. — Masonry arched trail bridge near Teposcolula, Oaxaca. 

inches in diameter and twenty-five to thirty feet high, support hand- 
somely carved arches with spans of about thirty feet and a dome, from 
which part has fallen, a good-sized tree growing from the rim of the 
hole. The columns are built up in sections, each formed of a number of 
segments made of such size as to be transported from the distant quar- 
ries on mule-back. 

On one side of the town, crossing a stream, is a bridge of masonry 
plastered with lime mortar, giving the appearance of concrete; and in 
another locality is a bridge formed by building stone piers and resting 



31 

upon these huge logs thrown across the stretun between two pairs of 
tall sabino trees. 

Near a pueblo, called San Pedro de Salinas, are salt fields where the 
saline water oozing through the earth is evaporated, leaving a deposit 
of salt on the top soil, which is scraped into piles by the inhabitants and 
placed in holes in the ground filled with water, dissolving the salt. After 
the earth has settled, the brine is decanted into a vessel and carried to 
the huts, where evaporation by boiling leaves the domestic condiment. 

Tlaxiaco, a town with an elevation of 7000 feet, having 8000 inhabit- 
ants, with 4000 people in the surrounding pueblas, was reached after a 
ride of thirty-five miles from Teposcolula, being ninety miles from the 
railroad or nearest continuous wagon road. Claiming it. to date from 
the sixth century, the residents are proud of their town, which is the 
political head of the district and boasts of two four-wheeled passenger 
vehicles, which, however, must remain within the valley, where the 
trails are sufficiently wide- to permit of their use. 

This progressive town has separate schools for boys and girls, and its 
streets are illuminated by electric lights, the current being supplied 
from the municipal i30wer-plant containing dynamo, engine, and a 30 
H. P. boiler using wood as fuel. The machinery was brought over the 
mountains with great diflficulty, trees and "dead men" being employed 
to assist the oxen in hauling the sections, which were -placed on rollers. 

Tlaxiaco supports an orchestra as well as a good band, the natural 
talent for music being illustrated by the fact that many of the per- 
formers are boys. The music-loving character of the people was demon- 
strated by finding that the disturbance of one's rest at 3 o'clock one 
bright moonlight morning by the soft music of the orchestra's guitars, 
mandolins, violins, flutes, and clarinets was because the night was so 
beautiful the members of the orchestra felt they should serenade 
through the town. 

Another novel experience was that of sitting on the balcony when 
the band was giving a serenade and looking down upon the dark-skinned 
musicians in peaked hats, white clothes, and a "sarape" about the 
shoulders, standing in an open circle and playing famiUar music with 
modern instruments by the aid of the light of a candle resting on each 
music-stand. This band has the advantage of having interested in it 
one of the prominent citizens, who sends away for the music, varying 
the selections from waltzes to marches, and even including operatics 
and classics. 

It was stated that at the Fourth of July celebration of the American 




32 



engineers employed by the Oaxaca Iron and Coal Company, into which 
the officials and residents joined most heartily, the band from a town 
thirty miles away came into Tlaxiaco playing one of Sousa's stirring 
marches. 

Three years ago, when the engineers of the alcove company first 
settled in Tlaxiaco, an American was a curio, but now there are in the 
town English signs, including those of ''shu shine" and "barber shop. " 

A caller upon one of the prominent citizens found in his parlor long 
mirrors, carpet, parlor furniture, and a piano, all of which must have 
been carried over the mountains by ''mozos" or mules. There were 
also in the town several billiard tables, wdiich had been brought from 
the railroad in a similar manner. 

One of the town ''plazas," where the market is held on Saturdays, 
is a square paved with cobble-stones and having in the center a fountain 
from which some of the residents obtain their supply of water and carry 
it to their homes in jars. This, with two other similar fountains, con- 
stitutes the town water-supply system. On market days the ''plaza" 
is crowded with 4000 to 5000 people, who spread their wares upon 
mats laid over the stones and will sell their stock, or trade the fruits 
and cane of the hot country for the pottery, "sarapes, " etc., of the 
towns. 

On Saturday night, after the market is over, the pigs of the town 
clean up the "plaza" refuse, and a Sunday morning's form of excite- 
ment is the arrest of the pigs, if the officers succeed in their efforts to 
catch the animals. 

A sport of the Indians is "pelote, " or hand-ball, played with a ball 
made of cloth. Some knock this against the side of a house, having 
courts marked out in the dirt, similar to racquet ; while others have a game 
resembling tennis, using a line as an imaginary net, wdth courts marked 
out in the dirt on both sides of this line. When two Americans played 
"pitch and catch" on the "plaza" with baseball and gloves, the natives 
left the shops and formed an aisle up and down wliich the ball traveled, 
with a fringe of people two and three deep; and a wild pitch, which 
struck a stone and, glancing off, hit a native boy on the thigh, caused 
only laughter and joking in a tongue which could not be understood. 

The friendly spirit of the people was also shown by viands sent to our 
table, such as turkey, boned, minced, and stuffed back into the skin, 
a roast young pig, and various kinds of "dulce, " or desserts. 

Leaving Tlaxiaco to visit some of the coal deposits, which were being 
exploited by the compan}^ previously mentioned, the trail was similar 



34 

to that leading from the raih-oad, and after crossing the rugged sum- 
mits of a number of hills, their steep sides were descended to the Tlaxi- 
aco R-iver near its gorge, where several worldngs were located. Other 
openings were visited near Mixtepec, a collection of huts and stores 



■"^^ 






l'-:< 







Fig. 7. 



-Flashlight taken in the coal drift, from which a semi-anthracite coal is 
obtained. 



about a church, where coal seams were being investigated, the miners 
using a carrier similar to a stretcher to remove the coal and waste from 
the drifts. In locating the properties the company was compelled to 
have a geodetic survey made, selecting a base-line, and tying it to 
governmental triangulation stations where possible. 



.35 

Many of the trees in this vicinity have hanging from their Ijranches a 
fungus, much like our southern moss, which hides the leaves; and from 
the branches of other trees grow varieties of orchids, the plant re- 
sembling the clustered spines of a pineapple top and suspending a 
chain of bright-colored flowers. 




Fig. 8. — Gorge through which the Mixtepec River makes rapid descent. The 
proportions are indicated by comparison with the individuals on the cliffs 
and rocks. 



Near Mixtepec the camp for the night was made by the Mixtepec 
River, where this stream leaves its fringe of "sabino" trees in the 
rolling country and enters a gorge whose nearly vertical walls are about 
170 feet high and 230 feet apart. 



36 

Mina Gonsuelo, a little settlement in a narrow valley between high 
hills, from whose crests the coyotes howl at night, is where most of the 
exploitation has been done, and a welcome sight upon coming over the 
summit of a hill was that of the Stars and Stripes flying beside the 
Mexican tricolor above the office and chemical laboratory, which had 
been installed by the company on account of the distance the operations 
were from any established laboratory. Two diamond drills, a shaft, and 
a number of drifts are utilized to prove the amount and quality of coal 
obtainable. 

After visiting the workings at Mina Consuelo, a start for the railroad 




Fig. 9. — Organ cactus (candelabra) trees along the trail in western Oaxaca. 



was made, and the character of the vegetation changed. Banana and 
palm trees were seen, fields of sugar-cane were passed, and occasionally 
the trail, which passed through innumerable palmettos, was left for the 
welcome shade of large trees of candelabra cactus, which have a pulpy 
trunk supporting a number of branches, forming a tree about thirty 
feet high with a spread of the same distance. 

Passing through Huajuapam de Leon, a town next in importance to 
Tlaxiaco, a stop for the night was made at Chila, a little pueblo, where 
early in the morning the soft plaintive music of an orchestra was heard, 



37 

growing louder as from a nearby church came a funeral procession. A 
number of women and children, each with a small bouquet, preceded the 
chief mourners and the coffin, which was borne on the shoulders of men, 
who also carried flowers, and followed by the orchestra. Even the 
musicians carried small bunches of flowers, those playing the violin and 
'cello holding them in the hand with the bow, and on account of the 
length of his instrument the player of the 'cello had its base supported 
by an assistant, while he played with its stem resting upon his shoulder. 
Continuing the journey and obtaining beautiful views of the moun- 




FiG. 10.— Wagon road ascending mountain face near Acatlan, Puebla; average 
grade about ten per cent. 



tain ranges and valleys from among the palmettos, which grew either 
close to the ground or as the stems of branching trees, the town of Acat- 
lan was reached. Here the horses were reluctantly left behind, and 
seats were taken in a coach which five mules, urged by a "mozo "riding 
a sixth, pulled over the mountain on a steep, winding road made by 
cutting into the hillside and filling in back of retaining walls of masonry 
and overcoming an elevation of 2,500 feet in five miles. Although the 
wheels of the vehicle were so loose on their axles that a breakdown 
seemed imminent and inevitable, especially when the mules were driven 
at a gallop down the mountain side, a safe arrival was made at Mucio 



38 

Martinez, the terminus of the "Ferrocarril de San Marcus y Huajuapam 
de Leon, " a railroad which connects at Rosendo Marquez with the 
Mexican Southern Railroad to Pueblo, but does not touch either of 
the towns named in its title. During the latter part of the ride the 
discomforts of the coach were forgotten in the enjoyment of a view the 
blue sky-line of which was broken by the peak of Malenchi and the 
snow caps of Popocatepetl, Ixtaccihuatl, and Orizaba, 



The Birkinbine Engineering Offices 

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PHILADELPHIA. PENNA. 

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Drainage, stream control, irrigation and reclamation projects. 

Installation of water supplies for municipalities and industries. 

Arbitration of disputed cases requiring engineering experi- 
ence, or the investigation and valuation of properties or 
processes offered for investment. 

Expert engineering testimony in litigations. 

The Birkinbine Engineering Offices claim as endorsements : the record 
of a business life covering more than half a century, in which three genera- 
tions have participated; the wide range of work planned and executed in 
this and other countries; and the policy of keeping free hom financial inter- 
ests, contingent fees or patent royalties. 

JOHN BIRKINBINE C. P. BIRKINBINE 

F. L. BITLER H. E. BIRKINBINE 

d. L. W. BIRKINBINE 
Mutual Life Building, city of Mexico 



001 873 611 1 # 



